With the Rally Isle of Man being the longest event in the championship at 180 stage miles over some of the fastest and most technical tarmac rallying stages in Europe, run over two and a half days, this event is one of the toughest of the year and double winner, and current championship leader, Mark Higgins is under no illusions: "I might have a home advantage but to be fair we’ve had no testing and the way a car needs to be set up here is totally different to on the
Jim Clark. And with the weather being a constant factor you need the utmost confidence in your car!"
Higgins admits that rivals Gwyndaf Evans, Ryan Champion and Rory Galligan should all go well, and if the weather stays dry - something it hasn’t done for quite a few years now, then the S1600's should have an advantage through the twisty bits!
All in all this rally looks set to be as close and exciting as any one could wish for!
The first leg will begin with a ceremonial start in Douglas on Thursday [August 3] at 6pm and will include two night stages in a total of 24 stage miles. Friday’s stages begin at 9am with the first car due back at around 8pm after covering another 95 miles of the Islands unique roads. Saturday, the final leg, begins at 8am and the first car is expected back in Douglas at around 4pm, after clocking up another 69 miles of competitive stage distance.
